Odyssey Opera And BMOP To Present THE LAST SAVAGE At The Huntington Theatre

Odyssey Opera, in partnership with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), will present the revival of the engaging comic opera The Last Savage at the Huntington Theatre, Friday, March 13, 2026, at 8:00 p.m.

With music and libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti, this three-act 20th-century "grand opera buffa" comprises an eclectic score and unexpected libretto delightfully subverting convention through Mozartian musical tropes. Acclaimed conductor Gil Rose leads an internationally accomplished cast including sopranos Anya Matanovič, Sharleen Joynt, and Michelle Trainor, baritones Phillip Lopez, Gabriel Preisser, and Matthew Burns, and tenor Omar Najmi, all supported by the multiple GRAMMY️ Award-winning BMOP.

Premiered by the Metropolitan Opera in 1964, Menotti's The Last Savage is given a second chance with modern audiences delighting in its dry wit and topicality. Known for "overlooked gems, an area woefully neglected by other American companies (Opera Magazine)," Odyssey Opera's production highlights the work's enduring relevance, inviting audiences to laugh at its outrageous characters while reflecting on the timeless human desire to define-and defy-what is "savage" and what is "civilized."

"America was not ready for this opera when it premiered in 1964. With America's involvement in Vietnam accelerating and the recent assassination of President Kennedy, audiences were not in the mood for a comedy poking fun at religion and American materialism. 62 years later, it will be interesting to see if today's audiences will take The Last Savage on its own terms." - GIL ROSE, artistic director/conductor of Odyssey Opera and BMOP

Set in a satirical vision of mid‑20th‑century society, the opera follows Kitty, the spirited daughter of a wealthy American anthropologist, who insists on finding and taming a "savage" to prove her independence. She discovers Abdul, a young man living in the wilderness of India, and drags him back to the modern world as her prize specimen. Yet Abdul's transformation into a polished socialite exposes the absurdities of both primitive stereotypes and the shallow sophistication of high society. Menotti's witty libretto skewers cultural pretensions, consumerism, and the clash between tradition and progress, while his score blends lyrical arias, jazzy rhythms, and a pastiche of operatic conventions. The result is a playful yet biting comedy that asks whether civilization itself is the true masquerade.

Ticketing + Program Information:

Friday, March 13, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. | The Huntington Theatre (264 Huntington Avenue, Boston)
Tickets: General $15-$110. Appropriate for Ages 14+.
To reserve, visit OdysseyOpera.org or call Huntington Theatre box office at 617.933.8600.

THE LAST SAVAGE (1964) Boston premiere

Odyssey Opera
In partnership with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project
Gil Rose, conductor
Gian Carlo Menotti, composer/librettist
Eve Summer, Stage Director
Brooke Stanton, Costume Designer
Christopher Ostrom, Lighting Designer

Cast:

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